Aussie media glee at Test team's 'Pommelling'

Australia's media gleefully celebrated the dramatic turnaround in their team's Ashes fortunes following their comprehensive innings triumph over England.

Written by Agence-France Presse

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Sydney:

Australia's media on Monday gleefully celebrated the dramatic turnaround in their team's Ashes fortunes following their comprehensive innings triumph over England in the fourth Headingley Test.

"Pommelling, Australia humiliate old enemy," The Daily Telegraph crowed, headlining Australia's victory inside three days to level the series at 1-1 and take it to a decider at The Oval on August 20.

"Ponting has foot on throat, a hand on urn," The Sydney Morning Herald declared of the Australian skipper, who has led his team's fightback after their heavy defeat in the second Lord's Test.

"Three days of Headingley horror has turned the Ashes series so conclusively Australia's way that England could be forced to take drastic measures in their bid to win the decider in London," The Herald's Jamie Pandaram said.

"But it's difficult to see how they can pick themselves up. Perhaps Andrew Flintoff will regain fitness in time to rally the staggering troops, but this series now has a distinct tone of battle lost for England.

"Australia's bowlers have tasted blood and will be hungry for more in London."

The Daily Telegraph said the final Test is a role reversal from the last 2005 Ashes series in England.

"Ricky Ponting savoured one of the greatest triumphs of his career by shoving England into the Ashes guillotine that Australia plunged into four years ago," the paper's Ben Dorries said.

"In a complete role reversal to the 2005 series when desperate Australia had to win the last Test to snare the Ashes, woeful England must do that in 10 days' time at The Oval."

But The Australian newspaper said England could yet win the Ashes with victory in the fifth Test.

"Much will have to change for that to happen, not least a fragile mental attitude that, without Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff, sees a lack of belief against Australia," its cricket writer Malcolm Conn said.

"Many of the players in this England team still carry the scars of the 5-0 whitewash during the last Ashes series in Australia two-and-a-half years ago."

The Sydney Morning Herald's columnist Peter Roebuck warned that Australia had not yet won the Ashes.

"Of course, the deed has not been done. England are bound to reconstruct their woebegone batting order and presumably their bowlers will keep a more disciplined length as well," Roebuck said.

"But it's hard to imagine the series undergoing a third seismic change."

Former Test legspinner Stuart MacGill said momentum could still swing before the series is decided.

"If you look at the series, momentum has been a big feature," MacGill said on SBS TV.

"Australia have the momentum going to The Oval, but if England win the toss and get plenty of runs on the board on the first day the Aussies will be back under some serious pressure, judging by the way the series has gone so far."

Experienced ABC radio commentator Jim Maxwell said England's batting has let the side down.

"Australia has shown up England's batting badly in the Headingley Test and it is hard to see how the hosts can improve on numbers three to five," he said.